Solar conversion system having solar collector for forming a transposed image

ABSTRACT

A solar collector for concentrating reflected solar energy into an image that is converted into electricity. The collector is configured so that solar energy reflecting from regions of the collector farthest from the image is directed towards the middle region of the image. Alternatively, one or more segments of the collector can be configured to form a corresponding discrete portion of the image; the solar energy forming the portion of the image can be inverted from the solar energy reflecting from the one or more segments. Optionally, the portions created by the one or more segments can overlap.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of co-pending U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/289,216, filed Dec. 22, 2009, thefull disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates in general to a solar conversion systemthat collects and concentrates solar energy, then converts thecollected/concentrated energy into electricity. More specifically, thepresent disclosure includes a solar conversion system having aconcentrating solar collector that form an image of reflected rays,where the arrangement of the reflected rays forming the image istransposed from their relative position when reflecting from thecollector.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

Solar conversion systems convert electromagnetic energy to electricityby exposing a photovoltaic cell to a light source, such as the sun.Photons in the electromagnetic energy strike the photovoltaic cell thatin turn creates electrical potential differences therein. The potentialdifferences induce an electrical current flow through the cell, therebyforming an electrical energy source. Some solar cells are exposeddirectly to the light source without intensifying the light. Otherconversion systems concentrate light onto a photovoltaic cell usingreflective solar collectors. Typically, the concentrating solarcollectors have a curved reflective surface that concentrates the lightonto the solar cell. The curvature may be along a single axis or alongboth axes of the collector. The reflective surface may be parabolic. Thearea where the light concentrates can be along the mid point or axis ofthe reflective surface or can be off set from the axis.

One example of a prior art solar concentration system 10 is illustratedin a side perspective view in FIG. 1. The system 10 includes arectangular-shaped collector 12 having a concave reflective surfacefacing a light source (not shown). Light rays 14 from the light sourcecontact and reflect from the reflective surface as reflected rays 16that are directed to an area offset from the midpoint of the collector12. An X-Y-Z axis with an Origin O is provided; for the purposes ofillustration, the collector 12 has a width that is along the Y-axis anda length along the edge of the collector 12 in a direction transverse tothe Y-axis. Coordinates are provided adjacent each corner of thecollector 12 that illustrate spatial locations with respect to theOrigin of the XYZ axis. The collector 12 is recumbently inclined, havingone end (the upper end) of the collector 12 disposed at a larger valueof Z on the Z axis than its opposite end. For reference, the end of thecollector 12 where X=0 and Z=1 is referred to as the upper end 13 andthe end of the collector 12 where X=1 and Z=0 is referred to as thelower end 15.

The reflected rays 16 converge at an area that is offset with respect tothe X axis, but substantially aligned midway along the collector 12 inthe Y axis; an image 18 is formed at the area where the reflected rays16 converge. A solar cell (not shown) is typically included andpositioned to coincide with the image 18. The image 18 mirrors thecollector 12; that is, the reflected ray 16 originating from location(0,0,1) on the collector 12 is directed to the corresponding location(0,0,1) shown on a corner of the image 18. In similar fashion, theremaining corners of the collector 12 couple with corresponding cornerson the image 18. Since the image 18 is off-axis from the collector 12,the rays 16 from locations (0,0,1) and (0,1,1) are longer than the rays16 from locations (1,0,0) and (1,1,0). The disparity in length of therays 16 directed from different spatial locations on the collector 12can move and/or distort the shape of the reflected image 18 with changesin the relative orientation between the collector 12 and the sun.

Illustrating a moved/distorted image, an off-center solar ray 20 isshown contacting the corners and unaligned from ray 14 by angle θ.Off-center ray 20 reflects from the surface of the collector 12 asreflected off center rays 22. The reflected off-center rays 22 thatreflect from points (0, 0, 1) and (0, 1, 1) are unaligned from thealigned reflected ray 16 by an angle θ₁. The reflected off-center rays22 that reflect from the collector 12 at points (1, 0, 0) and (1, 1, 0)differ from the aligned rays 16 that reflect from those same points byan angle of θ₂. The reflected off-center rays 22 converge and form aconcentrated off-center image 24 different in location, size, and shapefrom the aligned image 18. The reflected off-center rays 22 directedfrom portions of the collector 12 at the upper end, or where the X valueis 0, are longer than the reflected off-center rays 22 that reflect fromthe end of the collector 12 where the X value is 1. Accordingly, theportion of the image 24 formed by the longer off-center rays 22experiences more movement and distortion than the portion of the image24 formed by the shorter reflected off-center rays 22. Depending on theoverall size of a solar cell used in this system, some portion of theimage 24 may not coincide with the solar cell surface, thereby reducingperformance and efficiency of the system. The distortion may alsoincrease flux density within some portion of the image 24 to a valuethat exceeds operational limits of a solar cell.

In another example of a collector 12 misaligned with the sun, off-centersolar rays 26 contact the reflective surface of the collector 12 thatare unaligned by an angle of phi Φ from the aligned solar ray 14 to forman off-set image 30. In this unaligned example, the longer reflectedrays 28 converge to a location on the image 30 having a value of Xbetween 0 and 1. Similarly, the shorter rays 28 are directed to alocation having an X value greater than 1. However, the locationdifferential between reflected off-center rays 28 and the alignedreflected rays 16 that reflect from the upper end 13 is greater than thelocation differential of those rays reflecting from the lower end 15.This concentrates more light energy in the middle portion of the image30 than in the image 18. Moreover, the additional concentrated energyfrom the distorted image 30 may also exceed operational limits of thesolar cell. Either image 24, 30 can have localized increased fluxdensities that may be damaging to a solar cell or its associatedhardware (e.g. wiring). Accordingly, a need exists for a solarcollection system that can operate in situations of misalignment betweenthe solar collector 12 and source of the incoming rays.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed herein are example embodiments of a solar collector forconcentrating reflected solar energy into an image that is convertedinto electricity. In one embodiment, the collector is configured so thatsolar energy reflecting from regions of the collector farthest from theimage is directed towards the middle region of the image. Alternatively,in another embodiment, one or more segments of the collector can beconfigured to form a corresponding discrete portion of the image; thesolar energy forming the portion of the image can be inverted from thesolar energy reflecting from the one or more segments. Optionally, theportions created by the one or more segments can overlap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some of the features and benefits of the present invention having beenstated, others will become apparent as the description proceeds whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of a prior art solar collector andexample images formed based on alignment of the collector with the sun.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an example of a solar collector andcorresponding reflected image in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the solar collector and image of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4A is a view of an example of an image formed by the collector ofFIG. 1 and FIG. 4B is a view of the image formed by the collector ofFIGS. 2 and 3, with both collectors at a 0° tilt angle.

FIG. 5A is a view of an example of an image formed by the collector ofFIG. 1 and FIG. 5B is a view of the image formed by the collector ofFIGS. 2 and 3, with both collectors at a 0.5° tilt angle in the Xdirection.

FIG. 6A is a view of an example of an image formed by the collector ofFIG. 1 and FIG. 6B is a view of the image formed by the collector ofFIGS. 2 and 3, with both collectors at a −0.5° tilt angle in the Xdirection.

FIG. 7A is a view of an example of an image formed by the collector ofFIG. 1 and FIG. 7B is a view of the image formed by the collector ofFIGS. 2 and 3, with both collectors at a 0.5° tilt angle in the Ydirection.

FIG. 8A is a view of an example of an image formed by the collector ofFIG. 1 and FIG. 8B is a view of the image formed by the collector ofFIGS. 2 and 3, with both collectors at a 0.5° tilt angle in the Xdirection and 0.5° tilt angle in the Y direction.

FIG. 9A is a view of an example of an image formed by the collector ofFIG. 1 and FIG. 9B is a view of the image formed by the collector ofFIGS. 2 and 3, with both collectors at a −0.5° tilt angle in the Xdirection and 0.5° tilt angle in the Y direction.

FIG. 10A is a view of an example of an image formed by the collector ofFIG. 1 and FIG. 10B is a view of the image formed by the collector ofFIGS. 2 and 3, with both collectors at a −0.5° tilt angle in the Ydirection.

FIG. 11A is a view of an example of an image formed by the collector ofFIG. 1 and FIG. 11B is a view of the image formed by the collector ofFIGS. 2 and 3, with both collectors at a 0.5° tilt angle in the Xdirection and −0.5° tilt angle in the Y direction.

FIG. 12A is a view of an example of an image formed by the collector ofFIG. 1 and FIG. 12B is a view of the image formed by the collector ofFIGS. 2 and 3, with both collectors at a −0.5° tilt angle in the Xdirection and −0.5° tilt angle in the Y direction.

FIG. 13 is a schematic of a solar conversion circuit.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an example array of the collectors ofFIGS. 2 and 3.

It will be understood the improvement described herein is not limited tothe embodiments provided. On the contrary, the present disclosure isintended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, asmay be included within the spirit and scope of the improvement asdefined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings in which embodiments of theinvention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theillustrated embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. For the convenience inreferring to the accompanying figures, directional terms are used forreference and illustration only. For example, the directional terms suchas “upper”, “lower”, “above”, “below”, and the like are being used toillustrate a relational location.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exactdetails of construction, operation, exact materials, or embodimentsshown and described, as modifications and equivalents will be apparentto one skilled in the art. In the drawings and specification, there havebeen disclosed illustrative embodiments of the invention and, althoughspecific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptivesense only and not for the purpose of limitation.

Described herein are example systems and methods of converting solarenergy to electricity. In one exemplary embodiment, a system uses acollector that concentrates collected solar energy in an image that isoffset from the collector midpoint. Additional embodiments describedherein include collectors that reflect and concentrate light within aportion of a plane that coincides with a surface of a solar cell. Oneexample embodiment includes a solar collector that forms a beam ofconcentrated light that does not mirror the collector surface. That is,at least some of the rays reflecting from the reflective surface of thecollector travel along a path that intersects the path of one or moreother reflected rays. One example of a solar collector system 40described herein is shown in a side partial sectional view in FIG. 2.The solar collector system 40 of FIG. 2 includes a curved collector 42(which may also be referred to as a reflector) having on its rear ornon-reflective side a contoured rear surface 44 and on an opposite sidea contoured front reflective surface 46. The collector 42 as shownincludes segments along its length, wherein the different segmentsdirected reflected rays in a different arrangement. An X-Z axis is shownfor reference purposes with coordinates provided at opposite ends of thecollector 42. An upper end 49 of the collector 42 is shown havingcoordinates (0,1) and a lower end 51 is shown with coordinates (1,0).Thus, values of X increase along the collector 42 when traveling fromthe upper end 49 to the lower end 51 and values of Z correspondinglydecrease.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an example embodiment of the collector 42 isshown in a perspective view. An X-Y-Z coordinate axis and Origin O isprovided along with representative coordinates at corners of thecollector 42. In an exemplary embodiment, the width of the collector 42is defined as the spatial distance along the Y axis of FIG. 3. Thelength can be referred to as the distance along a lateral edge 53 of thecollector 42 between the upper end 49 and lower end 51 and in adirection transverse to the Y axis. It should be pointed out that in theexample embodiment of FIG. 3; the collector 42 has a curvedconfiguration. Therefore, the actual width of the collector 42 whentaken along its surface exceeds its spatial placement along the Y axis.Similarly, the collector 42 is contoured in a direction transverse tothe Y axis so that spatial displacement in that direction along thecollector 42 may not be the same as the actual length of the collector42 directly along its surface. For the purposes of discussion herein, aspatial difference is referred to as an apparent distance. For example,the coordinates provided on FIG. 3 assess a unit value of 1 as thespatial distance between opposing corners of the collector 42 on itsupper end 49. However, measuring the actual length along the surface ofthe collector 42 between these two corners will provide a value greaterthan 1 due to the curvature along the upper end 49. Measuring thedistance of the lateral edge 53 provides a value of actual length of thecollector 42 and not an apparent length.

The embodiment of the collector 42 of FIGS. 2 and 3 includes an uppersegment 50, an intermediate upper segment 52, a middle segment 54 andlower segment 56; where the segments 50, 52, 54 56 have a substantiallyconstant length across the collector 42. In an exemplary example, theupper segment 50 is defined as the portion of the collector 42 along theupper end 49 and across the width of the collector 42. In the embodimentillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the respective lengths of the uppersegment 50 and intermediate upper segment 52 along the lateral edge 53are substantially the same. Also in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS.2 and 3, the length of the middle segment 54 is greater than the lengthsof both the upper segment 50 and intermediate upper segment 52; but lessthan the length of the lower segment 56. In one example, the middlesegment 54 has twice the length of the upper segment 50 and half thelength of the lower segment 56.

Referring now to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, an example of aforward collector 58 is shown facing the reflective surface 46 side ofthe collector 42 and having an exemplary embodiment of a receiver 60mounted thereon. The receiver 60 illustrated in FIG. 2 is positioned sothat concentrated light reflected from the collector 42 coincides withan example solar cell 62 on the rearward-facing surface of the receiver60. An exemplary embodiment of an image 64 is illustrated aligned on thesolar cell 62, in this example the image 64 is formed by light raysreflecting from the collector 42. The image 64 depicted is subdividedinto discrete image segments 65 _(1-n). As will be described in moredetail below, in an example, the different segments 50, 52, 54, 56 ofthe collector 42 direct reflected concentrated solar energy onto one ormore of the image segments 65 _(1-n). In the example of FIG. 3, thereare eight segments 65, thus n=8. The image 64 includes an upper end 67along an outer peripheral side of the segment 65 ₁ and a lower end 69along an outer peripheral side of the segment 65 ₈. For the purposes ofreference herein, the length of the image 64 is the distance between theupper and lower ends 67, 69.

In the example embodiment of FIG. 2, solar rays 68 are shown bearingtowards the reflective surface 46 of the collector 42. Reflections ofthe solar rays 68 from the segments 50, 52, 54, 56 are collectivelyillustrated as beams. An exemplary embodiment of a beam 70 is shownreflecting from the upper segment 50 to form at least a portion of thesegments 65 ₃ and 65 ₄ of the image 64 of FIG. 3. Additionally, the beam70 is inverted, that is, the rays from the upper portion of the uppersegment 50 form the lower portion of the segment 654. More specifically,the rays from the upper segment 50 that originate adjacent the upperedge 49, are directed to the portion of the segment 65 ₄ adjacentsegment 65 ₅. Similarly, the rays originating from the portion of theupper segment 50 adjacent the upper intermediate segment 52, aredirected towards the portion of the segment 65 ₃ bordering segment 65 ₂.Thus, the upper segment 50 is configured so that rays reflecting fromits upper portion (upper rays) make up the lower portion of the beam 70at the image 64. Further to this example, rays reflecting from the lowerportion of the upper segment 50 are directed towards the image 64 abovewhere the upper rays are directed. As will be understood by thoseskilled in the art, the example of the collector 42 depicted isconfigured so that rays reflecting from its upper portion are directedproximate the mid portion of the image 64. The inverted beam 70 has across-section 71 that varies with distance from the collector 42. Shownin the exemplary example of FIG. 2, the cross section 71 has a linearlydecreasing width (distance along the Y axis) and a height (distancetransverse to the Y axis) that reduces to a minimum point where the rayscross and then increases substantially linearly to where it forms theportion of the image 64.

The embodiment of the upper intermediate segment 52 shown in FIGS. 2 and3 casts a beam 72 along a path somewhat parallel to the general pathfollowed by the beam 70. The rays forming the beam 72, whileconcentrated, remain substantially adjacent and generally follow pathsthat do not cross. Therefore, the beam 72 is not inverted but resemblesa mirror image of the upper intermediate segment 52 and shown directedto segments 65 ₅ and 65 ₆. The beam 72 is shown having a the crosssection 73, wherein the width and height of the cross section 73decreases linearly with distance as the beam 72 approaches the image 64from the surface of the collector 42.

As shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower segment 56reflects rays that form a beam 74 shown inverted similar to the beam 70.Referring to the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the beam 74coincides with the image 64 from image segment 65 ₂ through imagesegment 65 ₇. The lower segment 56 is configured to reflect solar raysthat form a beam 76 that mirrors the lower segment 56 and issuperimposed over the entire image 64 from image segment 65 ₁ throughimage segment 65 ₈. Thus in an example embodiment, image segments 65 ₃and 65 ₄ are made up of light reflected from the upper intermediatesegment 52, the middle segment 54, and the lower segment 56; imagesegments 65 ₃ and 65 ₆ are made up of light reflected from the uppersegment 50, the middle segment 54, and the lower segment 56; imagesegments 65 ₂ and 65 ₇ are made up of light reflected from the middlesegment 54 and the lower segment 56; and image segments 65 ₁ and 65 ₈are made up of light reflected from only the lower segment 56.

In the example embodiment of the collector 42 in FIGS. 2 and 3, theupper edge 49 is the portion of the collector 42 farthest from the image64. Accordingly, the rays and beams of reflected solar energy from thefurthest portion are most likely to distort or change location along thebeam 64 in response to misalignment between the sun's rays and thecollector 42. Thus, by forming a collector 42 that directs concentratedsolar energy from its furthest reflective region towards the middleportion of the image 64, orientation misalignments can be bettertolerated without a resulting reduction in collected solar energy. Inone example embodiment, the middle portion of the image 64 can behalfway between the upper and lower ends 67, 69, can be a regionadjacent to or superimposed over halfway between the upper and lowerends 67, 69 that extends some distance past one or both sides ofhalfway, where the distance may include from about 10% to about 75% ofthe length of the image 64, and all values between.

EXAMPLE

In one non-limiting example, MATHCAD® software was used to simulatereflective images for the collector 12 of FIG. 1 and the collector 42 ofFIGS. 2 and 3. For both collectors 12, 42, the simulated images had anarea of 8 mm² to coincide on a 10 mm² solar cell. Simulated images werecreated for both collectors 12, 42 assuming full alignment with the sun;additional simulated images were created for misaligned situations atvarious angles of tilt along one or both of the X and Y axis. Fluxenergies and maximum flux of the simulated images were calculated. Shownin FIGS. 4A through 12A are the simulated images formed by the collector12 of FIG. 1; FIGS. 4B through 12B represent the simulated images formedby the collector 42 of FIGS. 2 and 3.

Specifically, with reference to FIG. 4A, an aligned image 18 is showndirected on an upper surface of a solar cell 32. In this example, thecollector 12 (FIG. 1) is in alignment with the sun with a zero tiltangle in the X and Y direction. Similarly, in FIG. 4B, the collector 42(FIGS. 2 and 3) is aligned to project the image 64 directly onto thecell 62, also having a zero tilt angle in the X and Y direction. FIGS.5A and 5B illustrate an example where the collectors 12, 42 are tiltedat 0.5° along the X axis. Referring back to FIG. 1, this would result ina value of 0.5° for the angle θ. The image 30A in FIG. 5A extends abovethe surface of the cell 32. Similarly, the image 64A shown in FIG. 5Balso has a portion extending past the outer edges of the solar cell 62.In this example, the energy of image 30A is 81.5% of image 18, whereasthe energy of image 64A is 82.1% of the energy of image 64. As notedabove, misalignment between a light source (the sun) and a collector candistort a reflected image with varying flux values. Also simulated wasthe ratio of lowest value of flux within the image to the highest valueof flux in the image (maximum flux level). The flux values werenormalized, so that flux values would be equal to 1 for an image havingequal flux distribution. Referring now to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the maximumflux level is 2.588 for image 30A and 1.92 for image 64A.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an off axis alignment of negative 0.5° in theX axis. This can be illustrated as the incoming rays in the direction ofan angle Φ from aligned array 14. (FIG. 1). In this example, a portionof both images 30B, 64B extends below the solar cells 32B, 62B. However,the image 30B, due to the disparity in length of reflecting raysdiscussed above, has a height noticeably reduced over that of the heightof the image 64B. In this example, the energy of the image 30B is 88.6%of the energy of the image 18, whereas the energy of the image 64B is89.4% of the energy of the image 64. The maximum flux level is 4.729 forimage 30B and 1.991 for image 64B.

In FIGS. 7A and 7B an X-Y coordinate axis is shown correlating to the Xand Y axis of FIGS. 1 through 3. Also provided is a reference axis A_(X)in FIG. 1 that bisects the width of the collector 12 in a directionparallel to the X axis. Thus, a rotation in the Y axis tilts thecollector 12 about this axis A_(X). A positive rotation is illustratedby a curved arrow A₁ (FIG. 1) and negative rotation is illustrated byoppositely directed curved arrow A₂ (FIG. 1). In FIGS. 7A and 7B, images30C and 64C were obtained by simulating a 0.5° tilt of the collectors12, 42 on the Y axis. Images 30C and 64C each have a portion extendingpast their respective solar cells 32, 62 in a direction of an increasingvalue of Y. In the example of a 0.5° tilt in the positive Y axis, theenergy of the image 30C from collector 12 is 83.6% of image 30 and theenergy of image 64C is 84.1% of the energy of image 64. The maximum fluxlevel is 1.549 for image 30C and 1.728 for image 64C.

FIGS. 8A and 8B represent rotating the collectors 12, 52 an angle of0.5° in both the X and Y axis. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the images30D, 64D extend past the edges of the solar cells 32, 62 in directionsof increasing X and increasing Y. The energy of image 30D is 88.4% ofimage 30 and the energy of image 64D is 96.7% of the energy of image 64.The maximum flux level is 1.938 for image 30D and 1.92 for image 64C.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an example of a negative 0.5° tilt in the Xdirection of the collectors and a positive 0.5° tilt in the Y direction.Both images 30E and 64E extend past the cells 32, 62 in regions ofincreasing Y but decreasing X. The energy of 30E is 93.4% of the energyof image 30 and the energy of image 64E is 95.3% of image 64. Themaximum flux level is 2.347 for image 30E and 1.778 for image 64E.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate a 0° tilt in the X direction and a −0.5°tilt in the Y direction, wherein both images 30F and 64F extend past thecells 32, 62 in a region of decreasing values of Y. The energy of image30F is 83.6% of image 30 and the energy of image 64F is 84.1% of image64. The maximum flux level is 1.532 for image 30F and 1.639 for image64F. FIGS. 11A and 11B represent images formed by a 0.5° tilt in the Xdirection and −0.5° tilt in the Y direction. Thus, in this situation,the images 30G and 64G extend past the cells 32, 62 and areas ofincreasing X and decreasing Y. The energy of image 30G is 88.4% of image30 and the energy of image 64G is 96.7% of image 64. The maximum fluxlevel is 1.938 for image 30F and 1.92 for image 64F.

Referring now to FIGS. 12A and 12B, in this situation, the collectors 12and 42 were simulated in a tilt angle of negative 0.5° for both the Xand Y axis. Thus, the images 30H, 64H extend off of the cells 32, 62 andareas of decreasing values of X and Y. The energy of image 30H is 93.4%of image 30 and the energy of image 64H is 95.3% of image 64. Themaximum flux level is 2.347 for image 30F and 1.76 for image 64F.Accordingly, it can be seen through the various tilt angles of thecollectors to represent misaligned configurations, that by directing thereflected rays from portions of an off axis collector further away fromthe produced concentrated image towards the center of the image canresult in greater energy recovery over various off tilt angles.Moreover, the value of maximum flux is maintained at a more consistentlevel thereby reducing the chances of damaging the solar cell.

An exemplary example of a solar conversion system 78 is shownschematically in FIG. 13. In this example the solar conversion system 78includes a collector 42A, a receiver 60A, and a resistive load 79 inelectrical communication with the receiver 60A. Conductive members 80connect the load 79 to the receiver 60A forming a circuit 81. Thereceiver 60A is schematically represented as a circuit having a currentsource with current i_(L) in parallel with a diode having current i_(D).The circuit 81 is coupled to the receiver module 60A by the conductivemembers 80 to the resistive load 79; that may be any device thatoperates on or otherwise runs on or draws an electrical current orvoltage, as well as any device or system for the storage of electricalcurrent power or voltage. In an example of operation, sun rays 68Areaching the collector 42A reflect from the collector 42A to formreflected rays 63. The within the module 60A is a conversion cell (notshown) that converts the solar energy of the focused reflected rays 63to electricity that is communicated to the resistive load 79 through theconductive members 80. Shown in perspective view in FIG. 14 is anexample of an array 83 formed by arranging a plurality of collectors 42Band their respective modules 60B.

The present invention described herein, therefore, is well adapted tocarry out the objects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned, aswell as others inherent therein. While a presently preferred embodimentof the invention has been given for purposes of disclosure, numerouschanges exist in the details of procedures for accomplishing the desiredresults. These and other similar modifications will readily suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art, and are intended to beencompassed within the spirit or the present invention disclosed hereinand the scope of the appended claims. While the invention has been shownin only one of its forms, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that it is not so limited but is susceptible to various changeswithout departing from the scope of the invention.

1. A system to convert solar energy to electricity, the systemcomprising: a solar cell; and a solar collector having a reflectivefront surface configured to have segments that are each a differentdistance away from the solar cell, so that when electromagnetic energycontacts the front surface, the electromagnetic energy reflects awayfrom each segment and converges on the solar cell to form a concentratedimage having a middle portion made up of electromagnetic energyreflecting away from a segment that is farther away from the image thananother segment and so that electromagnetic energy reflecting away fromat least two of the segments generally follows paths that cross oneanother.
 2. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the segment that isfarther away from the image than another segment defines a firstsegment.
 3. A system as defined in claim 2, wherein the solar collectorincludes a second segment on the reflective surface that is adjacent thefirst segment, and wherein the electromagnetic energy reflecting fromthe first segment is directed to a first portion of the image andwherein electromagnetic energy reflected from the second segment isdirected to a second portion of the image that is adjacent the firstportion.
 4. A system as defined in claim 3, wherein the area of thefirst segment is substantially the same as the area of the secondsegment.
 5. A system as defined in claim 3, wherein the first and secondportions define a mid-portion and wherein the solar collector includes athird segment on the reflective surface that is adjacent the secondsegment and on a side opposite the first segment, whereinelectromagnetic energy reflecting from the third segment superimposesthe mid portion and forms at least a portion of the image on opposingends of the mid portion, and wherein the electromagnetic energyreflecting from the first segment is inverted.
 6. A system as defined inclaim 1, wherein the solar collector comprises a second segment on thereflective surface that is adjacent the first segment and a thirdsegment on the reflective surface that is adjacent the second segment ona side opposite the first segment wherein the area of the third segmentis about two times the area of the first segment.
 7. A system as definedin claim 5, wherein the solar collector includes a fourth segment on thereflective surface that is adjacent the third segment and on a sideopposite the second segment, wherein solar energy from the fourthsegment superimposes substantially the entire image.
 8. A system asdefined in claim 1, wherein the solar collector comprises a secondsegment on the reflective surface that is adjacent the first segment, athird segment on the reflective surface that is adjacent the secondsegment on a side opposite the first segment, and a fourth segment onthe reflective surface that is adjacent the third segment on a sideopposite the second segment wherein the area of the fourth segment isabout four times the area of the first segment.
 9. A system as definedin claim 1, further comprising an electrical load in electricalcommunication with the solar cell.
 10. A system as defined in claim 1,further comprising a plurality of solar collectors and associated solarcells formed into an array.
 11. A system as defined in claim 1, whereinthe collector is profiled so that when the electromagnetic energyreflects from the collector the energy converges into the concentratedimage at a location offset from the midpoint of the collector.
 12. Amethod of converting light into electricity comprising: (a) forming animage of concentrated light by reflecting light from a reflectivesurface of a solar collector; (b) orienting the solar collector toposition the image of concentrated light onto a solar cell that isoffset from an axis of the solar collector and so some region of thereflective surface is farther away from the solar cell than anotherregion of the reflective surface; and (c) reflecting light from at leasta portion of the region of the reflective surface farther away from thesolar cell onto the middle portion of the image.
 13. A method as definedin claim 12, further comprising inverting the reflected light of step(c).
 14. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the reflective surfacehas lateral edges on opposing sides of the surface, the method furthercomprising partitioning the reflective surface into sections that extendbetween the lateral edges, defining the region of step (c) as a firstsegment, defining the portion of the image having light reflected fromthe first segment as a first section, and defining a second segmentadjacent the first segment that is closer to the solar cell than thefirst segment, wherein light reflecting from the second segment isdirected onto the image to form a second section that is adjacent thefirst section to form a middle section of the image.
 15. A method asdefined in claim 14, further comprising defining a third segment of thecollector that is adjacent the second segment and closer to the solarcell than the second segment, and directing light reflected from thethird segment onto substantially the entire image.
 16. A method asdefined in claim 14, further comprising defining a third segment of thecollector that is adjacent the second segment and closer to the solarcell than the second segment, and directing light reflected from thethird segment that is on the middle segment and at least a portion ofthe image adjacent the middle section of the image.
 17. A method asdefined in claim 16, further comprising defining a fourth segment of thecollector that is adjacent the third segment and closer to the solarcell than the third segment, and directing light reflected from thefourth segment onto substantially the entire image.
 18. A method asdefined in claim 12, further comprising powering a load by providingelectrical communication between the solar cell and the load.
 19. Asolar conversion system comprising: a solar cell; and a solar collectorhaving a reflective surface and disposed with some portion of the solarcollector farther away from the solar cell than another portion of thesolar collector, so that when the solar collector is in the path of raysfrom the sun, the rays reflect from the reflective surface and convergeinto an image of concentrated solar energy on the solar cell and therays reflecting from the portion of the solar collector farther awayfrom another portion of the solar collector form at least a portion ofthe middle portion of the image.
 20. The solar conversion system ofclaim 19, wherein the rays reflecting from the farther away portion ofthe solar collector are inverted and follow a path that intersects a rayreflecting from another portion of the solar collector.